Thursday, October 29, 2009

I do not think I'll have time to get a full update out this week. I usually write it on Thursdays but Anne and the baby should be coming home today and there and there are a number of other important things that will take up some time. But, here are some brief items for you to be aware of:

1. The funeral for Norma Swoffer, Carmen's mom, will be held at Good Shepherd this Saturday at 10am. We are so thankful for Norma's life among us and thankful for her new life in the presence of Christ. Please pray that Jesus will console and comfort Carmen, Albert and the rest of her family.

4. This Sunday we'll move from Theistic evolution to discuss "intelligent design". Here's a great website to check out in order to learn more about ID

5. I am still getting Ife's sermon from last week loaded up. We ran into some tech problems but those are gone now.

6. There will be Christmas pageant meetings coming up this next week. We will call around to set up a meeting--so be sure to check your phone messages.

7. The worship committee is looking for a music minister and we trust that God has someone already set apart for that task. In the meantime we need to prepare for Christmas services. So in the next week or so, I'll be calling those who have signed up for choir to begin practicing for the Christmas service to set up a time to practice.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

If you've not already heard, God has blessed us with a little girl. Anne gave birth to Murielle Elisabeth Dunn Kennedy last night (10/27/09) at 10:01am. She is 6lbs and 10oz and 18 inches long. Both Anne and Murielle are very healthy. Murielle is very hungry and began nursing right off the bat. Thank you all for your prayers--its been a long 24 hours for Anne who has been in labor for quite some time, far longer than expected for a 5th baby, so she is very tired.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Harvest Dinner: Thank you to everyone who volunteered in any way to help this year's Harvest Dinner fundraiser and thank you especially to Chris Vail for taking leadership of the Dinner this year and organizing everything so effectively.

Systematic Theology will meet this Saturday for the second class discussion in Systematic Theology. If you missed the first, you are not too far behind, so please join us. Here is the recording of last week's class. This Saturday, we'll continue our discussion of Theism talking about some of the ways that Christians can know and demonstrate that God exists.

Shepherd's Bowl:Team 4 is scheduled to serve tonight at the Shepherd's Bowl.

Acolyte Practice This Sunday: The next acolyte practice is scheduled for This Sunday October 25th after the 10:30am service please mark your calendars and plan to be there. So far you guys are doing incredibly well. Thank you for all of your hard work. It is a making a big difference. Christmas Acolyting: Christmas Eve service is one of the more important ones of the year so we pull out all the stops. If you are not going to be out of town and are not going to be in the Christmas Pageant which takes place during the service itself, and you are willing to serve as an acolyte please let me know so that I can fill the spaces. We need five acolytes for Christmas Eve.

Falling Leaves--we plan to rake this Saturday: Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with leaves. We're meeting this Saturday, October 24th to rake them up. There is plenty of room to help out, so please sign up if you can. There is a sign up sheet in the parish hall this Sunday.

The Shepherd's Bowl is not only a way for us to help people in the community who need food, it is also one more way that Good Shepherd can make the Kingdom of God is made manifest. Jesus said: "who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." (Lk 22:27). When we do the things that Jesus did and we do them in his name and for his glory, we are make his kingdom present.

It is not a good idea to draw a firm line between evangelism and social outreach. One should always involve the other. Jesus did not simply feed and heal, he also called the lost to repent and follow him. His purpose was to bear witness to the truth and by his life, death and resurrection to save eternal souls...and yet he did not neglect bodies and the needs of the body.

One way to be sure that we do not focus exclusively on one or the other, evangelism or outreach, is to think of both as part of the same overarching goal of proclaiming the Kingdom of God in everything that we do. Every soul saved and every person fed in the name of Jesus Christ represents an expansion of his ethos, his way, his sovereign and just rule over the created order.

We are infinitely blessed to be called to be a part of his cosmic plan and his ultimate victory over sin, the world, and the Devil. The Shepherd's Bowl is one small but significant act in a much greater affair.
Monday and/or Tuesday?: If we have not had our newest baby yet by next week, Anne will be induced Monday or Tuesday. Thank you for all of your prayers and support during this pregnancy.

Beginner's Bible Study: Beginner's Bible Study is on for tonight. We should move to John 2 this evening.

Women's Bible Study: Meets every Saturday in the parish hall at 10:00am. They are currently studying the book of Isaiah. All women are welcome.

Sermon this Sunday: The sermon this Sunday will focus on the following text from 1st Thessalonians 2:13-16

13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last."

Video of Last Sunday's Sermon: Here's the video of last Sunday's Sermon Disciples of Jesus in the Kingdom of God:

Men's Bible Study and Breakfast:Chris Jones is scheduled to cook. We're almost through 1st Samuel. This Thursday we'll move into 24-25. Breakfast is served at 6:30am and the study starts at the same time. All men are welcome.

Leasing the School: Yesterday the final decisions were made at the city level with regard to zoning and the lease agreement with Future Faces Day Care was finalized. They were here yesterday and they will begin moving in any day now. Thanks be to God.

Matt's cell phone: If you have my cell phone number and have been trying to call me on it, you probably have had little success. I don't know what's wrong with it but I am not getting messages and calls are frequently dropped so please call me at my home number if you need me, which is also the church number: 607-773-4810

Christian Education:Science and the Bible/Creation and Evolution. We'll continue our discussion of Creation and Evolution this Sunday by answering some of the questions that came up last week and beginning a look at "Theistic Evolution"--the idea that God drove the evolutionary process. Is it possible to accept evolutionary theory while maintaining a faithful view of the truthfulness of scripture?

One of my favorite online resources is the Discovery Institute which is the website an organization group of scientists--atheists, agnostics, Christians and Jews--who have rejected Darwinian evolution in favor of a theory called Intelligent Design. You can read some very good articles, listen to recorded debates, and keep up to date with the latest information here:

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Baptism: There will be a baptism this Sunday October 18th. Evan Dreher, the oldest son of Mark and Anna Dreher, will God willing, will profess his faith publicly, be baptised, and be welcomed into the visible body of Christ. Please come and help celebrate this great event in Evans life and in the life of the church.

Systematic Theology will meet this Saturday for the second class discussion in Systematic Theology. If you missed the first, you are not too far behind, so please join us. Here are the notes and a partial recording of the session (tape ran out after 24 minutes) This Saturday, we'll be discussing the Christian view of God--how does the Christian understanding of God differ from the Hindu and/or Buddhist understanding...what, if anything sets Christian Theism apart from Muslim Theism or Jewish Theism? Hope you can be there.

Shepherd's Bowl:Team 3 is scheduled to serve tonight at the Shepherd's Bowl.

Acolyte Practice: The next acolyte practice is scheduled for Sunday October 25th after the 10:30am service please mark your calendars and plan to be there. So far you guys are doing incredibly well. Thank you for all of your hard work. It is a making a big difference. Christmas Acolyting: Christmas Eve service is one of the more important ones of the year so we pull out all the stops. If you are not going to be out of town and are not going to be in the Christmas Pageant which takes place during the service itself, and you are willing to serve as an acolyte please let me know so that I can fill the spaces. We need five acolytes for Christmas Eve.

Falling Leaves: Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with leaves. It looks like we'll meet on Saturday, October 24th to rake them up. There is plenty of room to help out, so please sign up if you can. There is a sign up sheet in the parish hall this Sunday.

The Second Yearly Goal: Last week I wrote about our first goal this year, which is to reach an attendance of 200 by Pentecost. That first goal is designed to set us up to meet the second goal, which is to make 30 new disciples of Jesus Christ.

Being a disciple is far more than being a churchgoer or even a convert...a disciple of Jesus does not simply cognitively believe a set of doctrines (although that is certainly and necessarily part of it), discipleship is a full bodied sacrificial commitment to live for Jesus; to make his commands your desires, his call your personal mission, his priorities your priorities, his desires your desires, to shape your life in conformity to his.

So when Jesus commanded his disciples to "make disciples" in Matthew 28, he was not suggesting that they simply go out and get a lot of people to say a one time prayer "accepting" him as Savior. Jesus wants disciples not nominal irregularly attending churchgoers who think they are saved because they said a prayer once but who have no intention of repenting or changing or giving themselves to Jesus whatsoever. He wants committed followers.

It is true, and we cannot forget it, that we do not "make believers". Only God can bring someone from a state of spiritual death, to new birth and life (Eph 2:1-12). But he does that most often through the proclamation of his word by his people, as a body and as individfuals. We plant the seed of the gospel, we water it, but only God makes it grow (1 Cor 3).

So how do we plant the seed and how do we water it?

Jesus compared his followers to indiscriminate sowers or farmers--farmers who cast seed everywhere without knowing the fruitfulness of the ground (Mark 4:1-20).

We do not know who will believe the message of the gospel and we do not know when. Knowing these things is not important. What is important, crucial, is that we plant and we water. We plant the seed by casting it everywhere. As individuals, we pass on the faith the apostles entrusted to us to the people in our lives by word and deed. As a body we preach and teach and live out his word. Through these two simple things, God has promised to bring people to repentance and faith.

We water the seed by training and equipping new converts to be followers through prayer, bible study, worship, fellowship, service. We both teach and live out the fruits of discipleship: love, patience, kindness, hope, faith, obedience and grace empowered self-control.

Our community life at Good Shepherd must be ordered in such a way that corporately and individually we are not only equipped to both plant and water, but that we are actively doing so.

Harvest Dinner: Even if sign up sheets look full, please talk to Chris Vail about it, he'll almost certainly have something for you to do :)

Beginner's Bible Study: Beginner's Bible Study is on for tonight. We're still in John 1 but we should move to John 2 this evening.

Women's Bible Study: Meets every Saturday in the parish hall at 10:00am. They are currently studying the book of Isaiah. All women are welcome.

Sermon this Sunday: Paul often urges his readers to "walk" in a way that is "worthy of the calling" to which we have been called. My first question when I read things like that is: "How on earth am I supposed to do that?" I am a believer and I'm in the process of being made like Jesus, but I am far far far from getting there. I am, in fact, pretty messed up. There is no way I can ever be "worthy" of the call I have received by God. Is this just another example of God giving us a command we can never can we ever be worthy of? The answer, as we'll see Sunday, is both yes and no.

Here's the text (1 Thessalonians 2:9-12):9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Video of Last Sunday's Sermon. I re-preached last Sunday's sermon Tuesday to the camera since the recording didn't come out well on Sunday. I added a good deal of content to the Tuesday version since there were no time constraints and I wanted to give more background and answer some questions that came up on Sunday

Men's Bible Study and Breakfast:Tom and Brian are scheduled to cook. We're almost through 1st Samuel. This Thursday we'll move into 24-25. Breakfast is served at 6:30am and the study starts at the same time. All men are welcome.

Christian Education:Science and the Bible/Creation and Evolution. We started this new series on Sunday and we'll continue it this coming Sunday with a discussion of naturalistic (or non-theistic) evolutionary theory. This will be a very basic presentation of the outlines of a very complex theory but there the essentials of Darwins theory are fairly simple. As we talk the underlying question, which we will try to get to, will be, can a Christian believe both scripture and Darwinian evolution without believing a contradiction.
Be sure to invite your friends and neighbors to church!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I re-preached this sermon Tuesday to the camera since the recording didn't come out well on Sunday. I added a good deal of content to the Tuesday version since there were no time constraints and I wanted to give more background and answer some questions that came up on Sunday

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Systematic Theology:The first Systematic Theology class starts this Saturday at 3:30pm. Everyone is invited and I encourage you all to try to make it. This class will help provide a framework for understanding God, the bible, the creed, the Trinity, the dual natures of Christ, the Church eternity, your life...everything will be discussed in a careful and systematic way. Be sure to come and to invite your friends.

There are three books that we will be using for the course and if you are planning to take it you might want to purchase one or more of them..but if you cannot afford to do that don't worry, I'll have copies. The most important one is Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem so if you can only buy one, buy that one. The other texts are Theissen's Lectures in Systematic Theology and Alister McGrath's "Christian Theology: An Introduction"

Shepherd's Bowl:Team 2 is scheduled to serve tonight at the Shepherd's Bowl.

Good News about the Shepherd's Bowl: Conklin Avenue Baptist Church has agreed to switch their dinner Mondays without a problem. They will need two more weeks to make the change but they are willing to do it. That means we will be able to feed a larger number of people between the two of us. Thanks be to God

Visible and Invisible: "I love Jesus but I can't stand church." I used to say things like that when I was a newer Christian until someone asked on a radio program: "how can you say you love Jesus, while hating his body and despising his bride?" That changed my mind about things and, well, here I am. As a pastor I tend to like the church a lot more now but I understand that the affection is not at all a universal one. One helpful and important principle that tends to be difficult for people to grasp is the distinction between the invisible church--that body made up of all who believe in Jesus Christ; and the visible church--the local congregations of baptized people gathered in the name of Christ where 1. the word is rightly preached, 2. the sacraments celebrated in accordance with Christ's institution and 3. right discipline is exercised. Many Christians hope their inclusion in the invisible church will make up for their neglect of the visible one. In this lecture by Dr. RC Sproul, Sproul discusses the distinction between the visible and invisible church and explains why participation in both is not only a good and helpful thing but a necessary one.

News about the school building:On October 6th, the city zoning board approved the rezoning of the school building from "residential"(not sure why it was zoned that way to begin with) to "school"--great news for Good Shepherd. The Future Faces day school people were present at the meeting and spoke in favor of the rezoning. They hope to start moving into the building in keeping with our lease agreement in mid-October. This is great news for Good Shepherd. Thank you for your prayers and thanks be to God.

Grace and patience with music: The music ministry at Good Shepherd is going through an interim period while we search for a new director of music. During this period, the choir is taking an extended sabbath so that when the new director comes he/she will be able to start fresh, with a choir that is rested and ready. Please be patient with those who have so graciously volunteered to use their musical gifts for our sake during that time. We hope and pray to have a new music ministry director in the next two months.

Baptism: There will be a baptism on Sunday October 18th. Evan Dreher, the oldest son of Mark and Anna Dreher, will God willing, will profess his faith publicly, be baptised, and be welcomed into the visible body of Christ. Please come and help celebrate this great event in Evans life and in the life of the church.

Acolyte Practice: The next acolyte practice is scheduled for Sunday October 25th after the 10:30am service please mark your calendars and plan to be there. So far you guys are doing incredibly well. Thank you for all of your hard work. It is a making a big difference. Christmas Acolyting: Christmas Eve service is one of the more important ones of the year so we pull out all the stops. If you are not going to be out of town and are not going to be in the Christmas Pageant which takes place during the service itself, and you are willing to serve as an acolyte please let me know so that I can fill the spaces. We need five acolytes for Christmas Eve.

Duty Rosters: The new duty roster is out for November and December. If you have only recently volunteered for a ministry and do not see your name on the duty roster, don't worry. The roster was probably created before you volunteered. We will be making changes to the roster in the next few weeks and and work in the newer volunteers for both Nov. and Dec.

Falling Leaves: We have a lot of beautiful trees on our new property. That means that we will also have a lot of leaves. Far more than any one or two people can deal with. They could be falling anywhere from October 17th to the 31st. Fred Moat is asking for volunteers to be ready on one of the Saturdays between those two dates to help rake and bag leaves. There should be a sign up sheet in the parish hall this Sunday.

The First Yearly Goal:We are praying and working toward a regular attendance of 200 by Pentecost. Our present average attendance during Spring and Fall is around 110. That means we are hoping and planning to grow a lot. We are looking for that growth to come from non-Christian and/or unchurched people in this neighborhood (but of course we won't turn anyone away)--in other words we primarily want evangelism/conversion growth. We want a lot of non-believers 1. coming in, 2. checking the place out, 3. deciding to stay, 4. eventually or immediately repenting and turning their lives over to Jesus Christ, 5. becoming disciples and 6. doing ministry. That's what we pray for, that's what we work for. We believe it can happen. Now our second goal is, by God's grace and power, to make 30 new disciples of Jesus Christ by Pentecost. That assumes that of those who start attending this year and decide to stay, not all will be ready immediately to repent and believe. That's okay. The more non-believers who walk through these doors, the greater the opportunity to share the gospel--the longer they stay, the more they will be exposed to the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. All we can do is plant the seed. God alone makes it grow.

But here is how you can help. How many non-Christian friends do you have? If you don't have any, make some. If you have some, here's a question: have you ever invited them to church? How about a bible study? Youth group? How about a simple church get together?

Later this fall, Chris Vail will be training some of you to share your faith on an individual level beyond this place and that is a crucial task. But even if you are afraid to do that, you can still help us meet this first goal by 1. praying that God will bring non-believers and unchurched people to Good Shepherd and 2. that he will use this congregation to spread his kingdom and 3. inviting your unchurched, non-believing friends and family members to church, a bible study, or an event.

Harvest Dinner: Yes, it's getting to be that time of year again. I have a few notes to pass on. I am not quite sure what this means but I was asked to put it in the bulletin and so I assume someone does know:

"Please pick a day or days that fit into your schedule. If you can only hour or two, that would very helpful

OCTOBER 20, Tuesday....starting after Bible class.....making the stuffing"

I think, though I cannot be sure, that this is a cry for help with these various tasks at this time...so if you have the time you are invited to pitch in here at the kitchen

Beginner's Bible Study: Beginner's Bible Study is on for tonight. We're still in 1st John

Women's Bible Study: Meets every Saturday in the parish hall at 10:00am. They are currently studying the book of Isaiah. All women are welcome.
A Shift in Focus for the Anglican Church Women: In the past, the ACW has organized fundraisers for the church. These fundraisers were vital to the financial health and wellbeing of the church. But over the years as God has blessed us and we have grown, the focus on fundraising has become less important. Now the ACW has decided that the time is right to shift focus from fundraising toward raising money for mission and for those in need. As the first step in this shift, the proceeds from biggest upcoming project, the Christmas Bake sale, which traditionally supported the general fund of Good Shepherd, will now be used to help a small Anglican congregation in a Nairobi slum pay rent, provide lunch and rubber boots (to protect from open sewage) for the children who attend school there.

As part of this new focus, the ACW also plans to invite all the women of the church to lunch on Saturday, November 14th to discuss future plans and projects. More details will be coming soon.

Sermon this Sunday: I hate taking my car to the garage. I never know whether or not I am paying too much. This is generally my own fault. I don't know enough about cars to know whether I'm being told the truth. That's why I would much rather pay a friend to do the repairs than the mechanic. I know I can trust a real friend to charge me the right price and I'm happy to pay.

It must have been difficult for 1st century Christians to know who to trust. The apostles were bringing good news, but in many ways they were also bringing new news. And wherever they preached, there was controversy and conflict. Some listeners would believe and follow Jesus based on the apostles' proclamation. Others would reject Jesus, criticize his messengers, and attack the message. The same thing happened in Thessalonica. This Sunday we'll look at the way Paul responded to his critics in 1st Thessalonians 2:3-8:

3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

Video of Last Sunday's Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Carlson, the text, and some footage of the animal blessing may be found here.

John Wesley's Sermon on Animals at the Resurrection: Some were also asking for a link to John Wesley's sermon on the place of animals in God's plan of redemption. Here is a link to that fantastic sermon. I encourage everyone to take some time to read it...Wesley was an Arminian but he still managed to get some things right :)

A Note from Kellie: Hi there! If you’ve added someone to Good Shepherd’s prayer list in recent months and that person’s situation has since been resolved (thanks be to God for all answered prayers!), please let me know so that I can remove the person’s name. Alternately, if you know someone who’s not on the list whom you’d like to see join it, let me know so that I can add him/her. You can e-mail me at kellie.n.french at gmail dot com or just call the church office. Thank you!

The Art of Prayer: If you are having a hard time praying or wondering about the nature of prayer, you might listen to "The Art of Prayer", a sermon by Matt Chandler I linked it on the blog for everyone to listen too. It is an excellent discussion not simply of the "how to" of prayer, but Chandler answers the "what is it?" and "why do it?" questions as well.

Men's Bible Study and Breakfast:NO ONEis scheduled to cook so please let me know if you're willing to volunteer. I cannot do it unfortunately. We're almost through 1st Samuel. This Thursday we'll move into 24-25. Breakfast is served at 6:30am and the study starts at the same time. All men are welcome.

Christian Education:Science and the Bible/Creation and Evolution. Two weeks ago, I announced a new series dealing with the relationship between scripture and evolutionary theory...in a larger sense the topic is "Science and Scripture". The first class will be an overview of the problem...why is the idea of evolution so difficult for so many Christians to swallow? Does the bible teach a six 24 hour day creation sequence? Is it even possible to reconcile what we know about the world from scientific inquiry with what we read in scripture? We'll start the discussion this Sunday between services at 9:15am

The Last Days: Ever wondered what it means to be "pre trib" or "post trib"? How about "pre mil" "post mil" or "a mil"? Those terms refer to different positions Christian theologians take with regard to what the bible teaches about the return of Christ. In case you missed it, I posted a long but rewarding discussion/debate on the topic between four pastors and theologians who take four different positions. You can watch the debate here.

The first Systematic Theology class starts this Saturday at 3:30pm. Everyone is invited and I encourage you all to try to make it. This class will help provide a framework for understanding God, the bible, the creed, the Trinity, the dual natures of Christ, the Church eternity, your life...everything will be discussed in a careful and systematic way. Be sure to come and to invite your friends.

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Robert Carlson is a language translator for Wycliff Bible Translators. He is an Anglican priest, a professor of Linguistics at NEGST in Nairobi, Kenya and, before that, worked for thirty years in the small village of Farakala in Mali--where he learned the unwritten language of the Supiyre people, wrote the first grammar for the Supiyre language, trained translators and led the project which ultimately produced the first Supiyre translation New Testament directly from the Greek.

He is also my father-in-law, Anne's dad. He preached yesterday for the Blessing of the Beasts.

Here is the text:Sermon preached at Good Shepherd, Binghamton
Pentecost 22 (October 4, Feast of St Francis)
Robert Carlson

Genesis 2.18-24
Psalm 128
Hebrews 2.9-18
Matthew 10.29-31

A few days ago I was talking with two friends who attend an Episcopalian church in Boston. They said their church was planning on doing a “blessing of the animals” this Sunday, and they expressed discomfort with the idea. Both of these friends have come originally from non-liturgical, conservative evangelical churches—churches which would never do something like bring animals to church to bless them.

It was clear that the thing that was bothering my friends was the notion of blessing. What is it that we think is happening when a priest, or anyone else for that matter, “blesses” an animal? I could see that my friends were a bit worried that it might be like some kind of magical rite, something like blessing holy water. Or maybe it was intended to be like holy communion or baptism, and the blessing was somehow supposed to transform the animal.

The word bless has a long and somewhat confused history in English. Way back in the pagan times before Christianity came to England, in the Anglo-Saxon language it meant “to consecrate something by marking it with sacrificial blood”. After the coming of Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons in the 7th century, the word bless was used for Christian rites of consecration—consecrating churches and vestments and candles and the like, meaning setting them apart for use in the worship of God.

Now I should point out at once that the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated bless in English translations—from the King James version up till today—most emphatically do NOT mean “to consecrate”. Blessing and consecrating are two different things. This can be seen right back at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis chapter 2.3 “So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.” “God blessed the seventh day” means something like “God bestowed his special favor on the seventh day”. “[God] hallowed [the seventh day]” means “God set apart the seventh day to be dedicated to himself”. The ordinary biblical meaning of God blessing people is nicely illustrated in our Psalm today. “The man who fears the LORD shall thus indeed be blessed”. If you look at the beginning the Psalm you will see what it means to be blessed by God in the Old Testament sense: “you shall eat the fruit of your labor”, you will have prosperity, health, a good spouse, lots of children, and, to cap everything off, grandchildren. It is all summed up in the concept of “peace” mentioned at the very end of the psalm: the shalom of God.

So the blessing of God in the Bible refers to God’s generous favor to humans. But there’s a complication. It’s easy to see what God’s blessing people means, but what about people blessing other people, and, more confusing still, people blessing God?

When a priest or bishop blesses us, or when we bless each other, what is it we are doing? We certainly are not conferring our favor on them. Instead, when it is people who are doing the blessing, the blessing becomes an invocation of God’s blessing—it is a special kind of prayer which calls on God to bestow his favor and goodness on whomever we are blessing. The priest says “The blessing of God be upon you…” or we say “May God bless you”.

Now it’s important to be very clear what is happening here. There is nothing “magic” about this kind of blessing. God will not bestow his favor on something unholy or wicked just because we call on him to do so. You can’t somehow make adultery or cheating or lying good by pronouncing a blessing over them. In fact, it is the height of insolence to ask God to bless something that God himself has told us is bad.

There is one further complication that I should say something about, and that is the business of people blessing God. The same Hebrew word used for God blessing people and people blessing people is also used for people blessing God, such as in Psalm 103, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Here again, the meaning is not that we bestow our favor on God. Rather, blessing in this context means thanking and praising God for his favor. You can see this from the very next verse of Psalm 103: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” I love the line in the General Thanksgiving at Morning Prayer: “We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life.” “We bless you for … the blessings” means “we earnestly and sincerely thank and praise you for your favor, kindness, and goodness to us.”

Now let’s come back to this business of blessing animals. Of the three uses of blessing that we have just considered, it is obviously the middle one that is the relevant one. That is, when we bless animals, it is a kind of prayer calling on God to bestow his kindness and favor on the animals. All you have to do is read Genesis 1 to see that invoking God’s favor on animals is very much in keeping with what God himself wants. God gave humans a very specific calling to be faithful stewards over God’s living creation. God not only wants to do good to human beings, but he wants to do good to his whole creation, and he wants to do good to creation through us.

The reason we are blessing animals today instead of some other time of the year is because today is the Feast of St Francis. So I would like to say a couple of things about why it is appropriate to bless animals on this day in particular.

One of the great contributions of Francis to the church and hence to us was a recovery of the significance of the Incarnation. Incarnation is a technical term for the event of God becoming human—for the conception and birth of Jesus. Now you might wonder how something as dry and dusty as an old doctrine with a Latin name could grab someone’s imagination and completely transform their life, but that is just what happened to Francis.

The key is in the juxtaposition of two phrases in the middle of the creed which we say every Sunday: “Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven.” The one “through [whom] all things were made,” that is, the second Person of the Trinity, was the one who “came down from heaven”. The one who became human, and who suffered and died for us, was the one who created the whole universe in the first place.

God called the universe into being—from nothing to something. It clear from our Old Testament reading this morning that God had clear intentions for his creation. It was to develop in a certain way. But as we know, humans rebelled and sin came into the world, and the universe which had been brought out of nothing began to return to nothing. Decay and corruption came onto creation because the created humans cut themselves off from the God who was holding the whole world together. When we forsook the God who holds the universe together, creation began to disintegrate.

So God sent his Son into the world. When God himself became a creature—a created thing—the whole creation began to turn around—to come back from the brink of decay and corruption, to return from disintegration to reintegration.

The realization of this gave Francis a new way of looking at nature. The universe is bound to God the Son not only by creation, but also by redemption. “Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven.” So all of creation is doubly bound to give God thanks and praise.

That was why Francis preached to the birds. It is said that he was on his way with some companions to a nearby village to proclaim the gospel when they came to a field where there were many birds on the ground eating. Francis left his astonished companions on the road and went over to speak to the birds. This is what he is reported to have said:

“My little sisters the birds, you owe gratitude to God, your creator, and always in every place you ought to praise him. For he has given you liberty to fly about everywhere, and has clothed you with feathers. Moreover, he preserved your race on the ark of Noah so that you would not perish out of the world. You also owe him gratitude for the air which he has appointed for you. Beyond all this, you do not sow, nor do you reap, but God feeds you, and gives you streams and fountains for your drink, the mountains and valleys for your refuge, and the high trees in which to make your nests. Because you do not know how to spin, God clothes you, you and your children. So you see that your Creator loves you very much, and has bestowed on you very many benefits. Therefore, my little sisters, beware of the sin of ingratitude, and be sure always to give praises to God.”

And we too, brothers and sisters, ought always and everywhere to give thanks to God—to bless him for our creation, preservation, and all the blessing of this life, but above all for the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray:

Lord God, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Blessing of the Beasts: This Sunday please bring your housetrained pets to church during the 10:30am service where we will pray for them and ask God to bless them. This is a traditional Anglican practice on or near the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The purpose of the blessing of the beasts is to rejoice and give glory to God for the wonders of his creation. Please be sure to check out the very short article I wrote in last week's Update explaining the biblical foundations for the blessing of the beasts. I plan to have some copies of that article printed out for Sunday as well. So please pick one up if you have questions.

Logistics for the Beast Blessing:In the past people have come for Christian education and then gone back home to get the pets in the intervening time between the close of Christian ed at 10:15 and the start of the service at 10:30am. That may or may not work out for you. The Christian ed time this week is very good. Dr. Carlson will be talking about mission work in Kenya and about the Nairobi church that we are going to help this year so you don't want to miss it. You are welcome to bring well behaved pets to the Adult ed if you wish but it might be easiest just to run back and pick them up before service starts depending on how far away you live.

Shepherd's Bowl:Team 1 is scheduled to serve tonight at the Shepherd's Bowl. There was a Shepherd's Bowl meeting last night during which we created one new team that we creatively named "team 5". We also discussed the willingness of Conklin Avenue Baptist to move their soup kitchen from Thursday to Monday. They have said they are willing and I should hear final word back on Friday after all of their volunteers have had a chance to meet or talk by phone. This should mean larger crowds for both suppers and it should mean more people being fed in the long run which is a very good thing.

Grace and patience with music: The music ministry at Good Shepherd is going through an interim period while we search for a new director of music. During this period, the choir is taking an extended sabbath so that when the new director comes he/she will be able to start fresh, with a choir that is rested and ready. Please be patient with those who have so graciously volunteered to use their musical gifts for our sake during that time. We hope and pray to have a new music ministry director in the next two months.

Systematic Theology is scheduled to restart on Saturday October 10th at 3:30 pm. There are three books that we will be using for the course and if you are planning to take it you might want to purchase one or more of them..but if you cannot afford to do that don't worry, I'll have copies. The most important one is Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem so if you can only buy one, buy that one. The other texts are Theissen's Lectures in Systematic Theology and Alister McGrath's "Christian Theology: An Introduction"
Duty Rosters: The new duty roster is out for November and December. If you have only recently volunteered for a ministry and do not see your name on the duty roster, don't worry. The roster was probably created before you volunteered. We will be making changes to the roster in the next few weeks and and work in the newer volunteers for both Nov. and Dec.Christmas Acolyting: Christmas Eve service is one of the more important ones of the year so we pull out all the stops. If you are not going to be out of town and are not going to be in the Christmas Pageant which takes place during the service itself, and you are willing to serve as an acolyte please let me know so that I can fill the spaces. We need five acolytes for Christmas Eve.
Falling Leaves: We have a lot of beautiful trees on our new property. That means that we will also have a lot of leaves. Far more than any one or two people can deal with. They could be falling anywhere from October 17th to the 31st. Fred Moat is asking for volunteers to be ready on one of the Saturdays between those two dates to help rake and bag leaves. There should be a sign up sheet in the parish hall this Sunday.

Harvest Dinner: Yes, it's getting to be that time of year again. I have a few notes to pass on. I am not quite sure what this means but I was asked to put it in the bulletin and so I assume someone does know:

"Please pick a day or days that fit into your schedule. If you can only hour or two, that would very helpful

OCTOBER 20, Tuesday....starting after Bible class.....making the stuffing"

I think, though I cannot be sure, that this is a cry for help with these various tasks at this time...so if you have the time you are invited to pitch in here at the kitchen

Beginner's Bible Study: Beginner's Bible Study is on for tonight. We'll continue to discuss some of the principles of biblical interpretation and this time we will actually have time to dive into John 1.
Worship Committee and Search for a new Music Director: As most of you know we are in the middle of an interim period at Good Shepherd. Micah Towery, our former music director, got married about a month ago and moved to Vancouver. We formed a committee to think through the worship of the church and to search for a new music director. The committee members are:

The committee is made up of people from very different backgrounds to reflect the diversity of Good Shepherd: traditionalist former Episcopalians, evangelicals, brand new Anglicans, musicians, college students, Xers, boomers and seniors--people who tend to favor contemporary worship and those for whom contemporary worship is the mark of the beast. We have all sorts and they are all on the committee which should make the meetings interesting.

We hope to call a music director who not only possesses musical skill and ability, but who has a vision for the music ministry at Good Shepherd. And we ask for your prayers during this search.

If all goes well, we could hire within the next two months. Until then the music at Good Shepherd will be a mixture of piano, organ, guitar and flute. Colleen, Jane, Chris and Joyce (Anne's mom) will serve together and/or alternately leading worship while we wait and pray for God to raise up a music minister. Thank you for your patience and your prayers during this time.

Women's Bible Study: Meets every Saturday in the parish hall at 10:00am. They are currently studying the book of Isaiah. All women are welcome.
A Shift in Focus for the Anglican Church Women: In the past, the ACW has organized fundraisers for the church. These fundraisers were vital to the financial health and wellbeing of the church. But over the years as God has blessed us and we have grown, the focus on fundraising has become less important. Now the ACW has decided that the time is right to shift focus from fundraising toward raising money for mission and for those in need. As the first step in this shift, the proceeds from biggest upcoming project, the Christmas Bake sale, which traditionally supported the general fund of Good Shepherd, will now be used to help a small Anglican congregation in a Nairobi slum pay rent, provide lunch and rubber boots (to protect from open sewage) for the children who attend school there.

As part of this new focus, the ACW also plans to invite all the women of the church to lunch on Saturday, November 14th to discuss future plans and projects. More details will be coming soon.

Sermon this Sunday: This Sunday for the Animal blessing we'll take a break from 1st Thessalonians. The Rev. Dr. Robert Carlson will preach. The Gospel text is Matthew 10:29-31

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

A Note from Kellie: Hi there! If you’ve added someone to Good Shepherd’s prayer list in recent months and that person’s situation has since been resolved (thanks be to God for all answered prayers!), please let me know so that I can remove the person’s name. Alternately, if you know someone who’s not on the list whom you’d like to see join it, let me know so that I can add him/her. You can e-mail me at kellie.n.french at gmail dot com or just call the church office. Thank you!

Men's Bible Study and Breakfast:Lee Bronsonis scheduled to cook. We're almost through 1st Samuel. This Thursday we'll move into 23. Breakfast is served at 6:30am and the study starts at the same time. All men are welcome.

Christian Education:Mission. The Rev. Dr. Robert Carlson will lead the Christian Education discussion this week and talk about his work translating bibles and teaching bible translation in Mali and Kenya. He will also talk about and show some photos of the Anglican Church in the Nairobi slum that we hope to help this year.

As you know we wrapped up our series on Anglican Sacraments and Worship on Sunday and I announced a new series dealing with the relationship between scripture and evolutionary theory...in a larger sense the topic is "Science and Scripture". The first class will be an overview of the biblical account of creation. The second class will be an overview of the three dominant evolutionary theories and then we'll move to discuss ways that Christians have dealt with the apparent (but not real) disparity between science and scripture using the topic of evolution as a case study.

This is going to require a lot of study on my part so the series will officially begin the Sunday after next, October 4th. This will give me time to do some of the reading I'll have to do.

Resources: Some have asked for links to the preachers to whom I regularly listen. My habit, and it has been for about six years now, is to listen to three to four sermons a day while I'm working out and walking instead of music. I used to rely on the radio and a walkman but three years ago, I got an ipod for Christmas and that made things so much easier. I could access the best preachers in the world and not have to worry about radio reception and what the local Christian station deemed worthy of broadcasting. God has used this discipline to teach me more about scripture and doctrine, to challenge and confront me in various ways, and, especially, to encourage me. If you can work it into your schedule--whether on the radio or an ipod--maybe when you are cleaning house or exercising or whatever, I encourage you to do so. Its been a huge benefit to me.

Here are the preachers, in no particular order, I listen too most. They all have podcasts to which you can subscribe, listen too on your computer, and/or download onto an Mp3 player.

This is the manuscript of a talk I gave about two weeks ago to the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group at SUNY Binghamton. There were about 120 college students there. It was the second meeting of the year so the crowd was made up of both believers and non-believers. I was tasked to make the case for studying scripture--not so much a defense or apology of scripture as an explanation of the importance of scripture in relating to God. Before I spoke, the Intervarsity staff worker who is also a parishioner at Good Shepherd played the baby Jesus prayer clip from Talladega Nights--I make reference to it further down in the talk so I thought I would explain the context. I expanded and explained at some points especially near the end so the manuscript is not a complete representation of the entire talk but its complete enough

Have you ever wondered what quality sets human beings apart from other animals? It seems like the answer would be obvious but philosophers have wrestled with the question for ages. Some have said it's our ability to reason. Others, that we are self-conscious. Still others, the sense of our own mortality, the knowledge that we're going to die.

The bible offers a unique answer. What sets humans apart from other animals is our innate compulsion to worship. Worship, as the bible understands it, is not only to pray, sing songs and offer sacrifices, it is to in some sense become a sacrifice, to give the self over to something. Every human being inevitably worships or gives himself or herself over, heart, mind and strength to some kind of god.

There is evidence outside the bible to back up this claim. Religion is universal. There is no culture or people that does not worship some kind of God. Some people claim to be atheists or agnostic, but those who make such claims generally make then from within cultures and societies that have made the effort to become secular. It takes effort—people have to be educated into unbelief. That's why you mostly find it in societies with western-style universities.

But by the biblical definition of worship even the atheist worships...even the atheist gives himself or herself over, sacrifices, to something. The atheist who wants to be successful at school, for example, and neglects all his relationships, family, friends, and devotes all of his time to study--has a god, “academic success,” and sacrifices everything to it. Your god is whatever you live for and sacrifice too.

The impulse to worship sets humans apart but the bible claims that it also lies at the heart of the human problem.

In chapter 1 of Romans Paul describes the problem this way:

21 ...although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Paul makes at least three claims here 1. They, us, we all know that there is a God because God has made it plain to us to the point that no one can plead ignorance of his existence and nature. There are no real atheist. 2. We know that this God deserves our worship. 3. Rather than worshiping the Creator we give ourselves over to the things he created.

There are two ways we do this. The first is most familiar. We literally make gods out of the stuff of the cosmos. In some parts of the world people cut down trees, or carve pieces of stone, fashion gods out of them and worship them.

Few of us do that...but most of us do, or have in the past, worshiped gods we've fashioned out of the stuff of the world. We give ourselves over to alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex, career, an education...we make gods of these things and give ourselves to them. All of these fall under this first type of idolatry.

The second way we give ourselves over to created things rather than the Creator is a lot more common and much more difficult to recognize. There is a story in the bible that captures this 2nd type of idolatry perfectly.

Through Moses, God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt. After 400 years in a foreign land, the people no longer knew God. They knew of him, vaguely, they did not know him, personally. So after setting them free God led the people to a mountain called Sinai and then called Moses to meet with him on the mountain.

What happened while Moses was on the mountain?

Aaron, Moses' brother, collected gold jewelry from the people, melted it down, and fashioned an idol in the form of a calf. That sounds like a lot like the first form of idolatry...fashioning a separate "god out of the stuff of this world. But when you read the text you find something different. Listen to what Aaron said: "And Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings.”

The word “LORD” is in all capitals which means that in the Hebrew the word is YHWH. Aaron and the people did not believe they were making another god. They thought they were worshiping YHWY.

That is the second way that human beings worship created things rather than the Creator. We don't set out to make other gods. We give ourselves over to fabrications that we identify as the true God.

How do you know who God is? How do you know what God is like?

There are lots of ways people answer this question. “I know God through nature, the stars, the clouds and trees, mountains and hills.” “I know God in the quiet of a forest.” I look inside myself and I experience God.” “I know God when I feel love and the love of those around me.” Those are all common answers. And they're not all bad answers—God certainly reveals himself through the things that he has made.

Those who identify as Christians often say much the same thing.

“I know God through prayer. Prayer deepens my knowledge of him.” “I sense God's presence most when I worship—that's how I know him, its that sense of his presence I get during a hymn or at Communion.” “I know God through the people I love and who love me at church.” “I can't explain how I know him, I just know him.” These too are good and true answers about a personal, experienced knowledge of God

But it's important to notice that often one person's experience of God is very different than another person's. This is to be expected. Everyone experiences God personally, individually, and because we're all different, our experiences of God are different and that's true and that's good and fine and right.

Sometimes...well, if the bible is to be believed and I think it is, often, people, take these experiences, these feelings and draw definitive conclusions about who God is and hold these conclusions to be sacrosanct. Those who do this sort of thing often say things like: "My God is a God of ____ so I just can't believe in_____". A person's personal experience of God or at least what he or she perceives as a personal experience of God determines, measures, and shapes God's identity.

An example of this sort of thing that I ran into a lot as youth minister is the common line... "I know that somewhere in the bible it says I shouldn't have sex with my girlfriend until we're married, but we prayed about it and God told us that since we are in love its okay..." Really? God really told you that? What an amazing god you have...perfectly aligned with your libido.

There are so many people with so many different and definitive conclusions about "their god".

One person's god is a condemning lawgiver and judge. Another persons god smiles on every desire and affirms every behavior. One person's god says never to have sex outside of marriage. Another person's god says sex is okay as long as you are committed and in love. One person's god is at one with Jesus, the Buddha, Shiva and all other gods and spiritual paths says that all are equally valid vehicles to the divine. Another person's god is the only one and he has only one name.

If you go to church you probably see the same sort of thing with Jesus..

One person's Jesus is meek and mild another person's Jesus is Almighty and King and Lord. One person's Jesus is all about non-violence and another's is making whips out of cords. One person's Jesus says that its okay never to go to church because worship takes place in the heart another person's Jesus says go to church every Sunday. There is the emergent Jesus, the inclusive Jesus, the social revolutionary Jesus, the peace and justice Jesus, the green Jesus, the gay Jesus, the straight Jesus the Republican Jesus the Democrat Jesus, the baby Jesus...name your politics, name your movement, name your preferences, name your passions and there is a Jesus for you.

And in the middle of it all you have to ask yourself: do I know who the real God is? Is my concept of God a true one? Because if God is real, if he has an identity, if he truly is, then he can't just be what each one of us wants him to be.

In fact his name in Hebrew, the name by which he identified himself to Moses, is YHWH, which means I AM who I AM. You do not define me. You do not measure me. You do not image or shape or form me. You cannot know me beyond what I reveal. I AM.

The problem is that our experiences, including our spiritual experiences are colored by and shaped by our personalities, desires and preferences. Our personalities, desires and preferences are not all bad.

They can be very good. They can be very much like the gold that the people took with them out of Egypt. Why did they take it? Who told them to take it? God did. Was it bad, was it evil stuff? Absolutely not. It was very good stuff. But when they took that very good gold and used to fabricate an image of god, they were in fact, giving themselves over to a self-constructed counterfeit. In seeking to image or re-image YHWH they merely projected an image of their own understandings--their own personalities, preferences and desires. And so in the end they did not worship the one true God but they worshiped a molded image of themselves.

In the same way, if the God we worship, if the God we know, is the God who emerges out of our personalities, desires and preferences—if our God is made up entirely of the stuff of our personal experience of him, then it's not only possible, but it is necessarily true, the we're not giving ourselves over to the real God

We all do this. As Paul says, its bound up in who we are as human beings.

But thanks be to God he has not left us to ourselves. He loves us and he wants us to know him.

Where was Moses while the people were casting the golden calf? Moses received the Ten Commandments which were inscribed by God on tablets of stone along with over 600 other laws.

These were not arbitrary rules. Among and along with the law came the command to "Be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy." (Lev 19:2). The law God gave to Moses, the first written word of God, revealed God's own self. This is who I am. I reveal myself in these commandments. I show myself to be holy and you must reflect me, in your thoughts and your words and your deeds.

There was no need afterward to melt down gold and make a calf, no need to imagine what God was like or to wonder about his nature and character. He identified himself, he disclosed his identity, he revealed his character in the word he gave to Moses and then to the Prophets, and then through Jesus and his apostles in the New Testament.

Paul says this to Timothy, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17)

I'm sure every Christian in this room has heard that text before, but don't let it pass over you in a foggy haze, its a stunning claim: "All Scripture" not part of it, not just the New Testament, not just the parts that quote Jesus, not just the parts that are easy to understand, not just the parts that tell of God's love. All of it. All scripture is breathed out--every word originates with God. Scripture is like the exhilation of God's breath. Leviticus, conquest of Palestine in Joshua, those really boring lists of sacrificial offerings by the 12 tribes in Numbers, that weird story about the sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter in Judges, from the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2 all the way to the coming of the New Jerusalem in Revelation. All of it is God breathed--all of it

Peter backs up Paul in his second letter chapter 1: 19-21. He's just finished explaining his amazing experience during the transfiguration where he saw Jesus' appearance changed, where he saw with his own eyes, the glory of Christ but he says that his faith, his knowledge of Christ does not rest on even his eyewitness in-person experience. He says rather, "we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

The prophetic word, writes Peter, the scriptures, are a more certain way of knowing the truth about God than what I saw with my own eyes, what I felt in my heart, what I touched with my hands. Why? How can the bible be more sure than even Peter's own hands on experience? Because Peter's experience, as wonderful as it was, was filtered through Peter.

God's word, on the other hand, is written by the prophets and the apostles—by Peter himself—but it is more certain because “No word of prophesy was ever produced by the will of man....but men spoke from God” and, says Peter, they did so as they were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit so that what they wrote, while "fully human", marked by their personalities and by their experiences and historical settings, would truly be God's own true word.

I asked a moment ago how you can know whether or not your experience of God is true; how you might wade through the mass of opinions about God and know the truth. Finding the truth about God is the most important thing you will ever do.

But you don't have to stumble around and wonder, guess, speculate about who God is and what he is like. He speaks. He speaks to you and to everyone else directly and clearly. God has answered that question. When you read scripture, when you come face to face with God's own self-revelation, then you know who God is.

So read it. study it. Feed on it. Wherever you are—whatever you believe or think about God the most important thing you will do in your life is study God's own word about himself.

Application points:

Full—the whole bible
Systematic—not randomly
Corporate—in community
Careful—look for what scripture says not what you feel about it.
Prayerful—ask God to apply it to your life